Tuchel coy on Saul's future at Chelsea as January exit looms

It was a loan deal which, in theory, helped everyone, with Atletico Madrid getting Saul Niguez's salary off the books in order to pay for the returning Antoine Griezmann, whilst Chelsea got an additional midfielder to rotate with Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and N'Golo Kante.

However, since the moment Saul signed a one-year loan deal with the European champions, there has been pretty universal dissatisfaction at Stamford Bridge, with the latest episode casting doubt on the midfielder's future in London.

Tuchel can't guarantee Saul minutes

The main problem is the lack of continuity Saul has had in the team this term, with Tuchel seeing him entirely as a rotation option.

Yet, on the rare occasion he has been on the pitch, he has been a huge disappointment, being substituted at half-time in both of his two Premier League starts against Aston Villa and Watford.

"I don't know where [Saul] goes from this performance," Tuchel declared after the victory over Watford.

"He was on a yellow card so we had two options. We could have taken [Marcos] Alonso off, who also had a yellow, and tried Saul as a wing-back.

"I had this in my mind before the game, but I thought maybe it was not the right match to try things with new positions."

Injuries to Kante, Kovacic and Jorginho should have opened the door for Saul to play more football, but the reality is that Tuchel simply doesn't trust the Spaniard enough.

Other midfielders have overtaken him

It was worth noting that in recent weeks, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Trevoh Chalobah have both received more minutes than Saul, with the former even starting in midfield against Manchester United on Sunday.

Saul was never realistically considered for such a big match, and this is a far cry from the midfielder's highest point at Atletico Madrid where he beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League virtually on his own.

You get the sense that Saul was never really a primary target for the Blues in the summer, but nobody could have foreseen him being as limited as his loan spell has suggested to this point.

Loan could be cut short in January

Whilst admitting he was thinking about utilising Saul in a different role, Tuchel's words were hardly a glowing endorsement for the midfielder and there is every reason to believe the loan might well be cut short in January.

Chelsea are likely to be on the lookout for more impactful, permanent options, and have the money to address the area in the winter.

This would be bad news for Los Colchoneros, who would need to find another club to take Saul's salary off their books, with his wages having gone towards Griezmann's wage during his own loan in the Spanish capital.

There is a degree of sympathy for a player who hasn't been given too much time on the pitch to get acclimatised to life in the Premier League, but few players recover from two embarrassing half-time withdrawals.